BusyBodyQueen

Monday, February 29, 2016

Gulf Cooperation Council countries may struggle to refinance US$94 billion of debt in the next two years as the region faces slowing growth, rising rates and rating downgrades, according to HSBC Holdings Plc.

Hillary Clinton scored a resounding victory against Bernie Sanders in Saturday's Democratic primary in South Carolina, seizing momentum ahead of the most important day of the nomination race: next week's "Super Tuesday" showdown.

Sunday, February 28, 2016

Citigroup Inc was sued for fraud by a Mexican oil services firm's investors and creditors over claims they were harmed by a loan scheme that led the bank to cut 2013 profit by US$235 million and fire at least a dozen people.

The bank's actions caused investors including Rabobank Groep as well as creditors of the Mexican firm, Oceanografia SA, to lose at least US$1.1 billion, according to a complaint Friday in Miami federal court.

Foreign-exchange forecasters are the most divided about the yen in almost a year.

Japan's currency has defied predictions and rallied more than 6 per cent in February, the biggest monthly surge since 2008, as investors seek haven assets. The gulf has widened between analysts' forecasts, with Barclays Plc, the world's third-largest currency trader, projecting a further 16 per cent rally to 95 per US dollar by year-end, while Goldman Sachs Group Inc projects a 14 per cent tumble to 130 within 12 months.

A partnership led by by Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin's Dalian Wanda Group Co plans to invest more than $3 billion euros (S$4.65 billion) in a retail and leisure development project outside of Paris, taking on Walt Disney Co in the euro area's second-largest economy.

EuropaCity will be built 10 kilometers northeast of Paris. It will be the biggest single investment project in Europe to date, including a theme park, show stage, hotel, retail stores and conference centers, the company said in a statement.

Singapore Exchange (SGX) has submitted a non-binding bid to buy The Baltic Exchange, the exchange revealed in an announcement. The Baltic Exchange provides market information on the maritime market, used by shipbrokers, owners and operators, traders, financiers and charterers.

The Singapore labour movement has submitted its seven-page list of recommendations to the Ministry of Finance ahead of Budget 2016, including requests to review the employment pass (EP) and workfare income supplement criteria.

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Ericsson and Amazon's web services division (AWS) said on Monday they have agreed a deal that allows Ericsson, the world's leading maker of mobile network gear, to act as a bridge for its telecom operator customers to use public cloud services.

Ericsson, the world's top supplier of wireless equipment, said on Monday it expects 150 million users to be on next-generation 5G networks five years from now, steering clear of an industry debate over whether network upgrades could start far earlier.

By contrast, rival mobile equipment maker Nokia said on Sunday the shift to "5G-ready" wireless networks could begin to ramp up as early as 2017, well ahead of any final agreement on formal 5G standards. "5G will happen faster than expected. This may surprise some of you," Nokia Chief Executive Rajeev Suri told an audience ahead of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Computing giant IBM has expanded its partnership with VMWare, one of several initiatives it plans to announce Monday as it works to carve out a bigger role in the fast-growing field of cloud computing.

Monday, February 22, 2016

Boris Johnson, the influential mayor of London, will campaign for Britain to leave the European Union in the run up to the June 23 referendum, the BBC reported on Sunday. "Boris will campaign to leave the EU," the BBC's political editor Laura Kuenssberg said on Twitter without citing sources. One source with knowledge of Johnson's decision confirmed to Reuters that he would back the 'out' campaign.

Just seven months ago, Sweden's Handelsbanken was worth almost US$20 billion less than Deutsche Bank. This month, it eclipsed Germany's flagship lender.Handelsbanken epitomises a more conservative Nordic banking style that prioritises cost control over revenue growth. It pays no annual bonuses to executives and has a decentralised model that gives branch managers control over lending, which it says helps reduce bad loan risks.

Saturday, February 20, 2016

US Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump called Friday for a boycott of Apple until the computer giant complies with US government demands to unlock the iPhone of a suspect in the San Bernardino attacks.

Love them or hate them, social media spun into a frenzy over chocolate fries, and customer numbers rose in January for the first time in several years - just as the salty-sweet creation launched in Japan.

For Category A cars, or those 1600cc and below with horsepower not exceeding 130bhp, premiums closed at S$43,000, down from S$46,651 in the previous exercise. Premiums for larger and more powerful cars in Category B rose S$8,360, rising from S$38,610 to S$46,970.

Open category COEs, which can be used for any vehicle type but end up being used mainly for large cars, increased to S$45,009, from S$44,001. Motorcycle premiums recorded a fall of S$150, closing at S$6,353, down from S$6,503 in the last exercise.

COEs for commercial vehicles, which include goods vehicles and buses, recorded the smallest drop. It fell from S$45,036 to S$45,001.

Apple Inc's Apple Pay mobile payment system will be available in China from Feb 18 for Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd (ICBC) customers, bank representatives said in social media posts on Tuesday.

VAIO Corp, the personal computer maker spun off from Sony Corp in 2014, is closing in on a three-way merger with rivals to create a producer that can dominate Japan and weather a shrinking global PC market.

Google's balloon-powered high-speed Internet service known as "Project Loon" began its first tests in Sri Lanka Monday ahead of a planned joint venture with Colombo, the country's top IT official said.

The European Central Bank is ready to ease policy in March if the recent financial market turmoil or the long-term impact of low energy prices threatens to keep inflation persistently low, its president Mario Draghi said on Monday.

When Mark Mobius looks at the wreckage of Chinese stocks traded in Hong Kong, he sees bargains.The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index plunged 49 per cent from its May high through last week, sending valuations to record lows, as concern over China's economic slowdown and heavy-handed state intervention in mainland financial markets spurred outflows.